When successful architects are tasked with designing important city or national libraries, they rise to the challenge. These practices, which often spend much of their time on overtly commercial work, seem to come to life when they put their civic-minded hats on.

Illustrator and architect André Chiote spotted this trait and has committed what he’s seen to paper: poster paper that is. He has created stylish graphic representations of libraries by some of the world’s most interesting architects.

Buildings by Herzog & de Meuron, Norman Foster, Mecanoo, Oscar Niemeyer and Rem Koolhaas have all been given the Chiote treatment. His technique is to focus on a particular element of each façade, and work up the geometric shapes and the shadows they create through a strong colour palette. ..